THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, Part 3

BOOK REVIEW

THE CHALLENGE OF THE LEFT OPPOSITION (1928-29), LEON TROTSKY, Pathfinder Press, New York, 1981

If you are interested in the history of the International Left or are a militant trying to understand some of the past lessons of our history concerning the communist response to various social and labor questions this book is for you. This book is part of a continuing series of volumes in English of the writings of Leon Trotsky, Russian Bolshevik leader, from the start in 1923 of the Left Opposition in the Russian Communist Party that he led through his various exiles up until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940. These volumes were published by the organization that James P. Cannon, early American Trotskyist leader founded, the Socialist Workers Party, in the 1970’s and 1980’s. (Cannon’s writings in support of Trotsky’s work are reviewed elsewhere in this space) Look in this space under this byline for other related reviews of this series of documents on and by this important world communist leader.

Since the volumes in the series cover a long period of time and contain some material that , while of interest, is either historically dated or more fully developed in Trotsky’s other separately published major writings I am going to organize this series of reviews in this way. By way of introduction I will give a brief summary of the events of the time period of each volume. Then I will review what I believe is the central document of each volume. The reader can then decide for him or herself whether my choice was informative or not.

The period under review is the time after Trotsky and the leading elements of the United Opposition were expelled from the Russian Communist Party and the Communist International by the Stalinist/Bukharinist bloc who controlled the party and the International. The Zinovievist section of the Opposition capitulated almost immediately. However, the bulk of the Opposition led by Trotsky remained in opposition. In 1928 after the political defeat of the United Opposition Trotsky was sent into internal exile at Alma Ata in the far reaches of Russia. Other leading elements of the Opposition were sent elsewhere. Thus, adding to the political defeat was the attempt to physically disburse and breakup the opposition by Stalin and his henchmen. Nevertheless under very trying circumstances the Left Opposition retained some organizational and literary existence. In 1929 even the idea of this disbursed internal opposition became too much for Stalin and Trotsky was sent to external exile in Turkey, never to return to the Soviet Union.

During this period Stalin was also attempting, as a result of previous erroneous domestic and international policies, to shake off his alliance with the Bukharinite Right Opposition and take sole control of the Russian party and the International. His success in doing that allowed him to pursue a ‘left’ course in relationship to the rich peasants which culminated later in the forced collectivization of agriculture and intensified industrialization under his concept of top down central planning. The confusion over this change in policy led many in the Left Opposition to capitulate and was the source of much debate and rancor as demonstrated in several of the writings in this volume. This is also the period of the ‘third period’ in Comintern policy which declared that the final impending crisis of international capitalism was at hand and that revolutionary upheavals were on the order of the day everywhere. This policy was to have catastrophic effects, particularly in Germany, as the Communist isolated themselves from the base of the Social Democratic workers at a time of the rising tie of fascism. We all know the results and it was not pretty.

Unlike the previous two volumes reviewed under this byline no individual piece of writing sticks out here. However, Communists have always prided themselves on their internationalism and so Who is Leading the Comintern Today? is the article that seems to best demonstrate the problems of the Stalinist international policy during this period. Previously the mistakes in revolutionary strategy had been a result of mistaken evaluations of the political situation or the immaturity of the various, mainly European, parties. However, particularly with the false policies on the Anglo-Russian Trade Union Committee and toward the Chinese Revolution a conscious anti-revolutionary policy set in. That change from international revolution as the ultimate defense of the Soviet Union to turning foreign Communist parties into border guards for the whims of Soviet foreign policy was to continue until the liquidation of the Comintern in 1943.

Trotsky in this article, with his usual insight and rapier pen, looks not only at the implications of these policies but the change of personal which affected the way the policies would be implemented. Stalin, apparently, put every broken leader, failed revolutionary, careerist and Menshevik skater he could get his hands on to staff the International. Revolutions can not be made by such elements but, as Trotsky points out, they can surely be destroyed by them. He highlights the case of Martynov, a long time right-wing Menshevik leader, who came over to the Bolsheviks in 1923. He had stood opposed to everything the Bolsheviks in their prime stood for. Now he was a leading light theoretician of the Chinese defeat. Nothing more needs to be said. Needless to say we have paid dearly for the victory of such Themidorians. Read on.